The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is one of the most beautiful, and certainly one of the rarest exotics on the road. The classic GT shape looks great at any angle, and the 4.7 liter Ferrari/Maserati sourced V8 can make grown men can make grown men weep at a full clip. But sometimes exclusive isn’t exclusive enough, and it seems that Alfa intends to release a GTA (Gran Turismo Allegerito, it means faster) version of the super-coupe sometime in the next year, just in time for the Italian manufacturer’s hundred-year anniversary.

The new 8C Competizione GTA will lose 150 kg of weight, (bringing curb weight very near 3,000 lbs), and gain 50 horsepower, for a total of 500 ponies. No word yet on whether the GTA will feature any suspension tweaks, as the suspension seems to be the only thing anyone ever criticizes.

A single spy photo, above, shows what is reportedly the 8C GTA out testing.

Only 100 copies will be produced, making the GTA 5 times rarer than the “base” 8C, and we’d expect fewer than 20 make it stateside.

[Source: TopSpeed]

Maserati is planning a convertible version of the GranTurismo, similar to the Alfa Romeo 8C Compitizione drop-top which is based on the same platform.

It doesn’t exactly take the foresight of a Nostradamus to predict that Maserati will bring a drop-top version of the GranTurismo to market, but the gents over at Car & Driver seem to have the inside scoop.

The new model is due out in 2010 (or possibly 2011) and the surprising thing is that it will feature a cloth-top instead of a retractable hard-top.

All of the major competitors to the GranTurismo have convertible models, including Mercedes with the SL550, Aston Martin with the V8 Vantage Roadster, Jaguar with the XKR convertible and BMW with the M6 Convertible.

Ferrari already offers the California and while they aren’t easy to obtain, there is also the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Based on the same platform, the California is already a retractable hard-top, whereas the 8C is offered as either a coupe or convertible. A GranTurismo Convertible was in the cards.

What we don’t know is exactly when it will arrive and if it will have four seats or just two. The price is expected to be around $130,000.

Oh… and look for a GranTurismo S Convertible/Roadster to follow.

[Source: Car & Driver]

While Alfa Romeo seems to have put its U.S. expansion on hold, the company has decided to deliver on its promise to bring the stunning 8C Competizione to the U.S., delivering the first of 84 vehicles destined for the States to renowned auto collector James Glickenhaus.

Glickenhaus recently made headlines when he unveiled a one-off Ferrari Enzo-based Pininfarina P4/5. After purchasing the final Ferrari Enzo, Glickenhaus had it delivered to the Italian design Studio (responsible for many past Ferrari designs) and had them re-create the Enzo, taking inspiration from the 1967 Ferrari 330 P4.

The 8C was delivered to Glickenhaus at Miller Motorcars in Greenwich, CT, after which the excited new owner promptly took it out for a spin.

Limited to just 500 units the 8C Competizione is based on the same platform as the Ferrari California and Maserati GranTurismo and is powered by a 4.7-liter V-8 that makes 444hp at 7000 rpm and 354 ft-lbs of torque at 4750 rpm.

A convertible, or Spider, version of the 8C Competizione is already in production.

8C Competizione

8C Spider

Official release after the jump:

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